Nilufar Begum (2 February 1936 – 6 January 2004; born Hena Bhattacharya), better known by her stage name Sumita Devi, was a Bangladeshi actress. In 45 years of her career, she acted in around 200 films and 150 radio and television dramas. She was an artist at the

Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra ( bn, স্বাধীন বাংলা বেতার কেন্দ্র, lit=Free Bengal Radio Centre) was the radio broadcasting centre of Bengali nationalist forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1 ...

in 1971.

Early life and career

Devi was born in

Manikganj District Manikganj ( bn, মানিকগঞ্জ ) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division, In 1845 AD it was at first declared as a sub-division. It was at first, under Faridpur district (Faridpur Zila) then it was in ...

in the then

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. She moved with her parents, first to Dhaka in 1944, then to Calcutta in 1951. She debuted her acting in the film ''

Asiya Asiya bint Muzahim ( ar, آسِيَة بِنْت مُزَاحِم, Āsiya bint Muzāḥim) was, according to the Qur'an and Islamic tradition, the wife of the Pharaoh of the Exodus and adoptive mother of Moses, identified as Bithiah in the Je ...

'' (1960). She was the first actress of the then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

to act in the film ''Dhupchhaya'' produced in

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

. Later she produced five films.

Works

;Actress ;Producer * ''Agun Niye Khela'' (1967) * ''Momer Alo'' (1968) * ''Mayar Sangsar'' (1969) * ''Adarsha Chapakhana'' (1970) * ''Notun Probhat'' (1970)

Personal life and death

Devi's first marriage to Amulya Lahiri was short. Later she married filmmaker

Zahir Raihan Mohammad Zahirullah (19 August 1935 – disappeared 30 January 1972), known as Zahir Raihan, was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is most notable for his documentary ''Stop Genocide'' (1971), made during the Bangladesh Liberatio ...

in 1962. Upon marriage she converted to Islam and took the name Nilufar Begum. With Raihan, she had two sons, Anal and Bipul. She had another son and a daughter. After the disappearance of Raihan in 1972, the government allotted an abandoned house on 7.5 kathas in

Mohammadpur Thana Mohammadpur ( bn, মোহাম্মদপুর) is a thana of Dhaka District in the division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Although initially Mohammadpur had grown as a residential area, subsequent commercial places have also been developed as well. ...

to Devi. Devi died from a brain haemorrhage on 6 January 2004 at Bangladesh Medical Hospital in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

. Both her kidneys and liver had been malfunctioning before she was admitted to the hospital. She had been in a coma since her treatment began.

Awards

* All Pakistan Critic Award (1962) * Nigar Award for Best Supporting Actress (1964) * Bangladesh Film Journalist Association Award * Television Reporters Association of Bangladesh Award * Agartala Muktijoddha Award (2002) * Janakantha Gunijan and Pratibha Sammanona (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Sumita 1936 births 2004 deaths People from Manikganj District Bangladeshi film actresses Bangladeshi film producers Nigar Award winners Burials at Mirpur Martyred Intellectual Graveyard Bangladeshi women film producers